14 frets to the body

I am building a new form and associated stuff now, designing a new tenor. I know very little about the 14 fret designs. in looking at my fret template and my body drawings, I am having difficulty creating a design for the 14 fret to body, and a 17" scale, that does not look too scrunched up in the upper bout section. DO I need to scale it all together, is there some compromise on the more vibrating section of the top plate when using a 17" scale , 14 fret to body model? Should I move to an 18" scale? Is the scale length usually the same as the 12 fret designs? When I stretch the scale out a little to 18" the layout feels better with my body drawings.

Is an 18" scale length a no-no on a Tenor? I understand that the string tension increases with scale length increase.

Should I begin again with the drawing?

Cheers to all!

If you like your body shape but feel you are missing the sweet spot for your bridge you could go 13 to the gourd. But yes there are folks who make tenors with 18 scale.

Yes, the question is centered around the bridge being in the sweet spot. Right now, with 14 frets to the body and a 17" scale the bridge is too close to the sound hole, too close the the lower transverse brace.

My body shape was designed specifically to put the saddle in the sweet spot with 12 frets to the body. I can stretch it to 13, but 14 is a no go.

If the intent is 14 frets, then I increase the scale length to put it back where it belongs. On mine it means going to 19" scale length.

I've built all styles - 12, 13 and 14 neck joins with no appreciable (to me) difference in volume, projection or tone. This is more of an aesthetic decision for me.

Think of cases too when changing up scale- does a tenor with an 18" scale fit in a tenor case?

Pete, were you altering the scale length when moving between those different scale lengths? Or all the same?

A 19" scale puts the bridge where I want it, and it still fits in my cases nicely. I saw someone on ebay selling Ameritage Gold tenor cases for $200 and picked up a couple of them. These are the only cases I have so far, but may have to get more soon


All other factors the same, does a longer scale length tend towards longer sustain than a shorter one?


Does anyone know offhand, where or how to figure out how much additional tension will be added to the four strings when moving from a 17" scale, to a 19" scale. I will probably use the Savarez 540 series strings and a Fremont Gold low G again on this one.

Chris_H said:

Pete, were you altering the scale length when moving between those different scale lengths? Or all the same?

A 19" scale puts the bridge where I want it, and it still fits in my cases nicely. I saw someone on ebay selling Ameritage Gold tenor cases for $200 and picked up a couple of them. These are the only cases I have so far, but may have to get more soon


All other factors the same, does a longer scale length tend towards longer sustain than a shorter one?


Does anyone know offhand, where or how to figure out how much additional tension will be added to the four strings when moving from a 17" scale, to a 19" scale. I will probably use the Savarez 540 series strings and a Fremont Gold low G again on this one.

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If you are going to use a 19" playing scale and tune up to tenor GCEA, the tension is going to be high with the strings you want to use, most folks don't like that high tension. The higher the tension, the more hand fatigue. My suggestion for you is to redesign your tenor body with a 17" scale length that puts the bridge where you want it, be it 14 or 12 fret neck. You could also build with a 12 fet neck and do a cut-away. Just some thoughts.

My suggestion for you is to redesign your tenor body with a 17" scale length that puts the bridge where you want it, be it 14 or 12 fret neck.

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I agree. Players can certainly feel the difference between a 17" scale and and 18" or 19" scale. A tenor with a 19" scale is essentially a small bodied baritone. IMO, scale length is more important to comfortable playing than body design.